When Benedict Cumberbatch announced his engagement to Sophie Hunter in the Times BMD columns last week he was as much congratulated for his class and style as for his forthcoming nuptials.The Times, however, was mocked for "throwing away" the story in two paragraphs on page 20. This was, SubScribe was very reliably informed, not an oversight or a lack of understanding of the story's news value, but a deliberate decision presumably intended to show a similar level of style and class.What a shame, then, that the paper seems to have been cowed by the masses into running a page 6 basement today on Geri Halliwell's forthcoming marriage to Christian Horner, who runs the Red Bull Formula One team.It's a far less interesting story, but perhaps the paper felt it was worth making more of this one because it was the second celebrity engagement in a week and could be used to reinforce the perception that the Times is still the place to make important announcements. Others who have used the classifieds, it reports, include David Mitchell and Victoria Coren and the actor Eddie Redmayne.In the Battle of Cool, I'm afraid the Mitchells and old Spice don't really match Redmayne and Cumberbatch. Perhaps the Times could try to present itself as the place for biopic Oscar candidates.Editor's blog The Times scooped by itself? Don't you believe it

Liz Gerard

New year, new face: it's time to come out from behind that Beryl Cook mask. I'm Liz Gerard, and after four decades dedicated to hard news, I now live by the motto "Those who can do, those who can't write blogs". These are my musings on our national newspapers. Some of them may have value.